<p>Duties fees were a huge problem when I sent a coat to D2 in Moscow. I sent it via UPS (apparently Fedex is the way to go in Moscow)–indicated that it was a used coat for a student. Russian customs wanted her to pay something like $200 for customs and it had already cost me $175 to mail it there (it was really light and I stuffed it into a fairly small box). Long-story short–the secretary at her program said D2 shouldn’t accept the package. It came back to me here in the US, but UPS wouldn’t give me my money back. Later, D2 had her wallet stolen–I mailed her a replacement credit card via FEDEX–she got it, but even though I sent it for 2-day air, she got the card 14 days after I had sent it. A friend of mine was going to Moscow and she offered to meet D2 and bring her a down coat.</p>
<p>Have your daughter buy what she needs there! If you read my previous posts in this thread, you will see that there could be some problems!! Actually shipping was not the problem as much as customs. If you are planning to send a complete wardrobe, your daughter might not receive it, and if she does, it could takes weeks; what will she do in the meantime for clothing?</p>
<p>BTW, my daughter was in Madrid, but I am sure there can be a problem wherever she is.</p>
<p>My DD is in the UK (for a couple of years) and the cost of a 3rd suitcase was the same as shipping USPS, so she did that for ease of transfers & customs. Many girls are having packages show up subject to duty because they are not labeled properly- used personal clothing seems to work fine.</p>
<p>My DD found it cheaper to actually order some cheap fill in the blanks clearance shirts from Wet Seal (yes, she found 6 that were actually not Hoochie Mama) and I mailed them in a box with some missed food items as a treat. Use USPS flat rate boxes, but they are still expensive, it is lucky customs has not opened any of mine, as they would never get all the stuff back in the way I did!</p>
<p>Have your D buy what she needs in Spain. My S is in Spain right now, and his program warned us about shipping boxes, predicting the exact problems that other posters have listed - issues with customs, taxes, etc.</p>
<p>Plus, if she buys stuff and submits the receipts to the airline, shouldn’t the airline be reimbursing her for at least some of the costs? If they don’t find her luggage, I think they’re responsible for at least some of her costs to replace the times (a couple hundred dollar limit). Even if they do find it, they might reimburse her for some expenses. The airline lost my D’s bag for 36 hours when we went to Florida; I submitted about $100 in receipts (purchase of a bathing suit, flip flops, a pair of shorts, t-shirt, toothbrush, etc) and they paid me back. Not sure about international flights but I’d think it would be the same.</p>
<p>This was one of my biggest fears when S left for Spain a week ago. I was so relieved when he arrived with both of his bags (suitcase and large-ish backpack were checked, small backpack was carried on). You and your D have my sympathy. What a way to start a semester abroad.</p>
<p>I had similar issues sending to Brazil. The duty was ridiculous. Italy is also a stickler. They do not like folks sending clothes because it competes with their domestic clothing manufacturers … Especially online retailers.</p>
<p>I suggest looking at Amazon.UK for anything else he may need.</p>
<p>If delivery is not guaranteed, then its waste of booking the products. Before ordering the products, don’t forget to read the rules and regulations.</p>